Avoid these two plunging stocks, strategists warn

As the markets continue making new highs, two names are making new lows — and some strategists advise investors to stay away.

On Friday, shares of TripAdvisor (NASDAQ: TRIP) hit lows not seen since late 2012, and L Brands (NYSE: LB) on Thursday traded at lows not seen since July of 2013. Strikingly, these moves come on a week when a quarter of the stocks in the S&P 500 (INDEX: .SPX) hit 52-weeks highs.

"I would stay away from both names. And it really says something in a market like this that consumer-oriented stocks are not just not joining in the rally, but are making new lows," Eddy Elfenbein, editor of the Crossing Wall Street blog, said Thursday on CNBC's "Trading Nation."

TripAdvisor shares have slipped 19 percent in the past week and a half, thanks to an earnings report that missed profit expectations and came well short on revenue. On Wednesday, Cowen analyst Kevin Kopelman downgraded the stock.

L Brands fell nearly 16 percent on Thursday for its worst day since 2008 — and its second-worst day of trading ever, according to FactSet data — following an earnings release that included weaker-than-expected guidance from the Victoria's Secret parent. The company blamed the reduction on strategic changes, explaining, "The exit of swim and apparel at Victoria's Secret is negatively impacting total company comparable sales by about 6 percentage points."

"They're trying to change what kind of company they are, and they're trying to restructure themselves," Elfenbein commented. "It's very premature to say this has been successful."

From a technical perspective, charts of TripAdvisor and L Brands don't appear promising.

"The charts indicate that these stocks get worse before they get better, and it really comes down to trend-following 101. When you're in a bearish trend, you want to sell the stocks that are going lower," Wald said.

TripAdvisor has been making lower highs since 2014, Wald noted, and is trading below a falling 200-day moving average. What's more is it's also breaking below support from December of 2016. All signs are pointing to a bearish downtrend, Wald said.

And this raises a larger question about the names, he added. "If this stock looks like this with the market at new all-time highs, what does it look like when the market starts to correct?"